Dispensing holder and receptacle



Jan. 19, 1965 5 w, RABB ETAL 3,166,220

DISPENSING HOLDER AND RECEPTACLE Original Filed April 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet l f fizz/672150715 jguar'i 0.55 167771 072g wijsqp fJ Has a Jan. 19, 1965 s. w. RABB ETAL DISPENSING HOLDER AND RECEPTACLE Original Filed April 9, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 g .D. Long .0" \fosq-ph JMajzl 9 fir/anions: jizz czri Z1 Babb Flemin Jan. 19, 1965 s. w. RABB ETAL DISPENSING HOLDER AND RECEPTACLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 fnz/erzfons'" Jiuari' (1/. Babb .F'Zemz'rz .D lo w kfosqpiJffa ,3

Original Filed April 9, 1962 United States Patent 1 Claim. (Cl. 222-407) The present invention relates to liquid dispensing devices and more particularly to a form of liquid dispenser adapted to cooperate with portable receptacles or containers provided with pouring or dispensing outlets of flexible material. This application is the division of co-pending application entitled Dispensing Holder and Receptacle, Serial No. 186,191, filed April 9, 1962, now Patent No. 3,116,854, dated Jan. 7, 1964, in the name of Stuart W. Rabb, Fleming D. Long, and Joseph J. Masi.

An important object of the invention is to provide a supporting tray or holder constructed to receive a container which is formed or provided with a flexible, tubular outlet from which liquid may flow, such supporting tray including a releasable clamping mechanism to control the flow of liquid from the container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dis pensing tray or holder for a liquid container which has a flexible tubular outlet, such dispensing tray including separable parts for anchoring the tubular outlet of the container in fixed position and additional parts for releasably clamping the tubular outlet to close it and retain it in its closed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form of holder for dispensing liquid from a flexible bag con tained in a suitable carton or other container, the bag having a tubular outlet member and the holder having a releasable clamping device for receiving the tubular outlet member and normally holding it closed.

A further object is to provide a simple and highly efficient construction of releasable holding and clamping elements to dispense liquid from a receptacle having a flexible, collapsed tubular spout, whereby the tubular spout may readily be fixed in position so that it will remain at all times in the desired relation to the releasable elements to assure proper opening and closing of the spout.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an efiective form of flexible envelope and spout therefor, such envelope being particularly designed to cooperate with the novel structure of the dispensing holder.

Additional and more specific objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tray made in accordance with the invention, showing in broken lines a rectangular container fitted within the tray and adapted to receive a plastic receptacle to hold the liquid;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the tray shown in FIG. 1, illustrating how one of the holding members may be moved away from its companion member to facilitate placement of the flexible dispensing spout of the plastic receptacle;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing the mechanism for spreading the spout-holding jaws to allow liquid to flow from the spout;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the locking lever which secures the movable holding member in operative position;

3,.l5522fl Patented Jan. 19, 1965 FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken along line 66 of FIG. 3, showing how por- Lions of the flexible receptacle along the margins of the spout are secured to the tray;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional View, similar to FIG. 3, but showing the spout clamping elements in released position to permit liquid to flow through the spout; and

FIG. 8 is a view of a liquid-holding envelope or bag in collapsed condition, such envelope being particularly adapted for the dispensing holder illustrated in the preceding views.

In the packaging and distribution of liquid products, particularly such commodities as milk and non-carbonated beverages for homes and restaurants, it has been recognized that economics could be realized by packaging the liquids in disposable receptacles holding a gallon or more. One expedient is to employ a sturdy inexpensive paperboard container enclosing a flexible lining envelope or bag having a suitable tube or other dispensing opening. Thus, when the receptacle is emptied it can be readily discarded. For relatively small packages the use of a flexible envelope and outer paperboard container is feasible, except that the cost of the container has been found not to be competitive with that for other types of packages. The relative cost of the paperboard and flexible envelope compared with the value of the contents tends to decrease as larger unit quantities of liquid are packaged. However, as the packages are made larger, they are often cumbersome to handle it they must be tilted or partly inverted in the process of dispensing small quantities, such as filling drinking glasses of milk, juices or other beverages.

By the use of the present invention a package of a gallon or more of liquid may be prepared, employing a plastic envelope or bag having a closed-end tubular portion or spout formed at a suitable point. This bag is enclosed in a paperboard container having a small precut area to give access to the spout and through which the spout may protrude. To dispense the contents, the paperboard container is fitted into the tray herein disclosed. The closed-end spout is brought through the opening in the paperboard container and secured in fixed relation to an upstanding part of the tray which also includes what may be termed a valve arrangement comprising releasable clamping means to engage opposite sides of the spout. After the spout has been engaged, the closed end of the spout will be cut oil and discarded, after which the liquid may be dispensed as desired.

By proportioning the tray so that it is relatively narrow and long, the assembly can be readily received on one of the shelves of a conventional refrigerator and will require only a limited space comparable to that of several ordinary sized containers, such as gallon or halfgallon milk bottles or cartons.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the dispensing holder in its preferred form comprises an elongated metal base or tray portion 1 having an upstanding metal frame or panel section 2 to which is fixedly secured a jaw supporting part 3 extending over one half the section 2. A second jaw supporting part 4 is carried on the section 2 for quick removal and replacement.

An envelope or bag for which the holder is particularly designed is shown at 6 in FIG. 8. The envelope may conveniently be made in two generally rectangular sections of plastic material, one being laid flat against the other and sealed with heat and pressure around its mar ginal edges. A filling tube 7 is formed at any desired place on the periphery of the flat, collapsed envelope. A dispensing spout 8 extends outwardly of the envelope, preferably near a corner of the generally rectangular envelope. This spout is formed with its end closed as indicated at 9. At the sides of the spout are formed 3 upper and lower tabs ill and ill which serve to hold the spout in the desired position when in place within the holder.

The envelope is preferably placed within a suitable paperboard container, as indicated in broken lines at 12 in FIG. 1. This container in practice is formed as a regular slotted type container, which has a tubular body portion and upper and lower overlapping flaps to close the open ends of the tube. The lower end of the container is preferably fitted within the upstanding flanges 13, 13 and 13a of the base or tray portion. The main 7 panel 14 of the base preferably is cut away as best seen in PEG. 1 in the interest of keeping the weight of the holder down to a minimum.

An appropriate panel of the paperboard container is partially cut over a small area to enable the cut portion to be removed readily to give access to the spout of the plastic envelope.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 the upstanding panel section 2 of the holder is L-shaped, having an integral foot integral with the panel 2 and is formed with undercut,

angular guide faces Ztl, 24 extending to the outer edge of the panel (see FIGS. 2, 4 and which cooperate with similarly shaped undercut guide faces 21;, 21 formed in the rear side of the part l.

Each of the parts 3 and d are similar, but reversely constructed, and are preferably formed as hollowed-out castings of aluminum or other suitable metal. As best shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6 and 7, the parts 3 and 4- have similar, but reverse, recesses formed respectively by interior horizontal walls 23, 23a; interior vertical walls 24, 24a extending transverse to the general planes of the parts 3 and 4; the vertical exterior walls 25, 25a on the rear sides of the recesses; and the vertical exterior walls 2d,,2ha forming the front faces of the parts 3 and 4.

The spout engaging jaw members, which may also be termed clampin members, indicated at 23 and 28a, are preferably hollow, relatively rigid, plastic pieces of irregular shape as best shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 6 and 7. The jaw members as shown herein are elongated vertically of the parts 3 and 4 and are swingably or pivotally mounted respectively at their upper ends on machine bolts 2?, 2%

received in openings in the walls 25, 2d and 25a, Zea. The bolts pass through front and rear walls of the jaw members indicated at 3%, 31 for jaw 28 and at 36a, 31a for jaw 28a. These walls of the jaw members are suitably fitted between the exterior and interior walls of the parts 3 and s to provide freedom for swinging of the jaws.

The jaws 23 and 28a are preferably urged to swing toward each other by means of coil springs 33 and 33a respectively, encircling the pivot bolts and having arms 34, 34a bearing against respective wall sections 24- and 24a. Opposite the arms 34 and 34a are respective arms 35 and 35a bearing respectively against the vertical walls 36 and 36a of the jaw members.

For the purpose of opening or spreading the jaws there are provided vertically movable blocks or link members 38, 38a having lower end portions bearing upon shoulders 39, 39a respectively of the jaw members. Extended portions 38b and 38c of the respective blocks 38 and 38a project below the ends bearing on the shoulders and engage flatwise against shallow cut-away portions in the adjacent walls in; and 36a of the jaw members. The upper portions of the blocks 3% and 38a are slotted to receive pins it), illa having their ends fixed to the front and rear walls of the jaw supporting parts 3 and 4 respectively.

In order to limit the upward movement of the blocks,

shoulders ll, 41a are formed on the respective blocks 38, 38a. These shoulders bear against the under sides of the respective walls 23, 23a. If desired, the lengths of the slots in the blocks 38 and 38a may be formed so that the lower ends of the slots engage the pins 4% and 459a at the desired upper limit of movement of the blocks.

For the purpose of depressing the blocks 38 and 38a simultaneously the block 38a is preferably made shorter than block 33 and a horizontally extending arm 38a is formed at the upper end of block 3% to extend over and bear against the upper end of block 38a. An operating lever or handle .2, pivoted at 43 on the part 3, has a bearing roller 44 contacting the upper end of the block From an inspection of FIGS. 3 and 7 it will be clear that downward movement of the lever 42 will cause both blocks 38 and 33a to move downward and these blocks, in turn, due to thepressure exerted on the shoulders 39, 3% of the jaw members will swing such members symmetrically away from each other.

The removable jaw supporting part i is held in place by a latch element as pivoted at 47 on panelZ. In its raised position, as shown in broken lines in FlG. S, the edge portion will allow the part 4 to slide freely on s guides; and in lowered position, as shown in full lines,

i. the end portion 49 extends over the outer edge of the I part 4 to hold it in its operating position.

in order to hold the jaw holding part 4 firmly against the latch element the shoulders 41 and 41a of the blocks 33 and 33a are so cut that, when engaged against the respective walls 23 and 23a, the jaw members will assume positions slightly beyond the edges of their supporting parts. Thus, when the part 4 is being moved along its guides into its operative position, the jaw members will be in contact before the part 4 reaches its final position. Some degree of force must be applied to bring it into such position that the latch may be engaged behind its outer edge. This construction also has the advantage that when the envelope has been completely emptied of its contents and it is desired to separate the jaw supporting parts, this is effected by merely lifting the latch element 45 and the spring tension exerted on the jaws causes part 4 to move a short distance away from part 3.

As best illustrated in FIG. 6, the clamping sections 5%, 5th: of the jaw members preferably project somewhat outwardly of the front faces of the jaw supporting parts 3 and 4. Narrow plastic pads 51, 51a (seeFIGS. 6 and 7) are secured at an inclination on the clamping sections so that such pads will extend across the tubular axis of the spout when the spout is in the desired position between the jaws. The arrangement is also such that a short section of the spout rearwardly of the closed end portion 9 will project beyond the pads. Thus, after the spout is in the proper position for dispensing, the end of the spout may be snipped off between the closed portion 9 and the pads.

While the plastic pads 51, 51a may be formed from various kinds of plastic material, it is preferred to employ pad material having a surface afiinity for the flexible material from which the spout is formed. This tends to cause the sides of the spout to adhere to the pads and facilitates opening the spout when the jaw members are forced apart. It has been found suitable to employ pads formed from relatively thick polyethylene sheet material for use with an envelope and spout of relatively thin polyethylene.

For the purpose of positioning the spout accurately with respect to the jaws, anchoring elements are preferably employed which engage the tabs 1i) and 11 located on the envelope approximately at the juncture of the spout with the main body. of the envelope. In the present instance short pins are employed which are received in holes in the tabs lid and ll. Such holes may be preformed if desired. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6, a pin 52 is secured in the block 3:; and is received Within a recess 53 in the companion block 38:: after the tab has been impaled upon the pin. Another pin indicated at 54 is secured in the jaw supporting part and projects outwardly of a vertical surface at the lower'end of this part. The pin 54 is received in a recess formed in a similar surface of the jaw supporting part 4 after the tab 11 has been impaled upon it.

In the use of the dispensing holder a convenient procedure is to place a filled container assembly on the base of the holder after the spout has been withdrawn from the opening provided by removing the partially cut section of the wall of the outer container, as referred to above. The jaw supporting part 4 may then be moved laterally to a position such as shown in FIG. 2, or it may be removed completely from the holder. If desired, this may be done before placing the filled container on the base. The spout is then secured in position by impaling the tabs 10 and 11 on the respective pins 52 and 54. The spout and anchoring tabs will then appear in the arrangement shown in FIG. 6. The jaw supporting part 4 is then returned to the position shown in FIG. 1 and locked by the latch element 46. The spout is now firmly held between the pads 51 and 51a on the clamping jaws and the tubular portion will lie between the upper and lower ends of the pads so that the fiow of liquid through the spout will be fully controlled. The closed end of the spout is then cut off and the device is ready to dispense the contents of the container.

The dispenser with the filled container in position may then be placed on a refrigerator shelf or other convenient support with the front wall of the parts 3 and 4 substantially fiush with the outer edge of a shelf or other support. To facilitate the placement of the holder there are provided flanges 56, 56a extending below the plane of the underside of the holder and formed integrally with the jaw supporting parts 3 and 4. When the main portion of the holder is placed, for example, on a refrigerator shelf the holder may then be pushed rearwardly until the flange portions engage the front of the shelf. The holder is then in a suitable position for dispensing the contents of the container.

It will be noted that the latch 46 has an intermediate holding position. When the latch is raised to release the part 4 from its operative position and the latch then released, it will move to locking position and will come in contact with inner wall 24a. The latch must again be raised to clear the Wall 24a and allow the jaw supporting part to be removed completely from its guides.

It is to be understood that when reference has been made herein to horizontal or vertical movement or positioning of various parts of the device, this is for convenience of description only and without any intent to limit the scope of the invention.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the present invention provides a neat, compact and eflicient dispensing holder for the etfective utilization of relatively large flexible envelopes for the packaging of liquids within paperboard containers. By reason of the spout construction and the arrangement of the clamping jaws, the envelope is maintained closed until the spout is in place between the jaws. After the spout is opened and dispensing of the contents is begun, it is apparent that the interior of the envelope will at all times be maintained in a completely sanitary condition and free from outside contamination, because the spout is always brought to closed condition as soon as the desired quantity of liquid. is obtained and the users hand is released from the lever 46.

By preparing the spout as Well as the envelope in flat, collapsed form, the spout can be brought easily between the jaw holding parts and readily secured in exactly the correct relationship by securing the tabs 10 and 11 on the anchoring pins and subsequently clamping the tabs between the adjacent surfaces of the jaw supporting parts as they are brought together and latched in place.

While the present description sets forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, numerous changes may be made in the mechanism as disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

We claim:

A flexible, plastic bag, for packaging a liquid material, adapted for use in connection with a dispensing device having a pair of relatively movable pouring spout engaging members and a pair of pouring spout flange tab engaging members, comprising:

(a) a pair of relatively thin, flexible sheets of plastic material secured together in face-to-face engagement along marginal edges to form an envelope;

(b) said envelope including a flat, generally triangular outwardly tapering pouring spout projecting therefrom adjacent a corner thereof and terminating in a sealed outlet section arranged to be opened by severance of its free end;

(c) relatively narrow, fiat, marginal flanges extending outwardly along the sides of said pouring spout; and

(d) a pair of aligned holding tabs projecting outwardly from respective marginal flanges on opposite sides of said pouring spout;

(e) said holding tabs having pin receiving openings formed therein for engagement with tab engaging members of a dispensing device to facilitate opening of the pouring spout for dispensing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,665,033 1/54 Robertson 222-107 2,705,579 4/55 Mason 222--107 2,966,294 12/60 Pelfrey et al. 229-53 2,990,101 6/61 Mead et al 222l07 X 3,105,613 10/63 Barton et al 222-407 X RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner. 

